Baklawa (Baklava) with Cashew Filling

I'm guessing if you're here, you already know how perfect and delicious Baklawas are. They are crispy sweet nut filled bites with an orange blossom and rose aroma, and a crisp that promises to make a mess. But a good mess, promise.

A perfect Lebanese Baklawa (per the town I come from, Saida) is as follows:

1. layers of phyllo dough about (36-40 altogether)

2. the bottom layer of the phyllo dough is always darker (more browned)

3. the top layers is a light golden brown

4. the baklawa has to be firm (so when you lift it, it's one bite size piece)

5. it should have enough syrup to sweeten but not make it drenched and too wet

6.the nuts are grounded to small pieces (not flour small) and mixed with orange blossom/rose water

7. Finally, the baklawa is always sprinkled with pistachio flour

Three tips for a perfect home-made baklawa that looks like it came from the sweets shop:

1. Making the baklawa in bite size pieces before you bake will give you an all around crispy baklawa. (check my Instagram highlights for step-by-step)

2. Use an aluminium baking pan, it works best with heat in the oven and over the stove top.

3. Low oven temperature. Keep your oven temp. at 330 Fahrenheit and give the baklawa time to bake. The higher the temp, the quicker the top and bottom phyllo layers will bake before the layers in the middle.

4. Create a "sauna" in your oven by adding a water bath on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the second rack in the middle for the baklawa pan. The moisture from the water bath will help with even browning of the phyllo dough layers. So the top layer doesn't get baked too much before the middle layers. (I don't know what kind of sorcery my oven is doing, but this trick has worked great with my baking.)

5. After it's baked, place the baklawa pan on the stove top to brown the bottom layer while adding the syrup (check my instagram highlights)

6. Remove baklawa from the pan immediately and place on a non-stick cookie sheet.

Recipe:

makes about 20 pieces of baklawa

1 package of phyllo dough

(I used athens food phyllo dough because it's already pre-cut into the 8 in width I need)

2 cups raw unsalted Cashews, crushed

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp orange blossom water

1 tsp rose water

2 cups unsalted butter, clarified

Simple Syrup:

3 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp orange blossom water

1 tsp rose water

Directions:

1. Make the simple syrup: add water and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat and mix until the sugar dissolves in the water, and bring it a simmer. Once the sugar water is simmering add: lemon juice, rose water, and orange blossom water. Mix well, and let the syrup simmer on low heat for 8-10 additional minutes to develop some thickness. Set aside.

2. Crush the Cashews: place the raw cashews in a food processor with powdered sugar and process on high until the cashews turn into fine crumbs for about 1 min. Place the cashews in a bowl and mix well with rose water and orange blossom water.

3. Clarify the butter: using unsalted butter, add the butter to a sauce pan over low heat and let it melt.

**Once the butter is melted, you will see white foam develop on the top. You need to remove that because it will cause burning spot on the baklawa once baked.

4. Then place a heat proof bowl, and using a sieve pour the butter through the sieve into the heat proof bowl to remove the white foam.

** if a bit of the foam stays in the bowl, that's ok.

5. On a clean surface or a cutting board, place a layer of phyllo dough that is 8 inches wide (the length doesn't matter). If it's not 8 inches, then cut it into 8 inches wide (this width will give the perfect result)

** to preserve the phyllo dough from drying fast, cover the phyllo sheets with a dish towel.

6. Brush the layer of phyllo dough with butter generously, then place another phyllo dough layer on top and brush again. Repeat the steps until you have 8 phyllo layers on top of each other, each layer must be brushed with butter.

7. Fold the buttered layers in half lengthwise, so the width on the sides are 4 inches.

8. Spoon about 4 tablespoons of the cashews on to the phyllo dough and press tightly, then fold the phyllo dough on top so it looks like a long sandwiched log.

9. Forming the shape: usually there is a professional baklawa cutter to form the shape. However, I wasn't able to access it in the U.S. (not even online). So you can make a DIY one by bending a 2 inch cookie cutter into an oval shape. Use half the oval to press into the phyllo log and form the shapes. Make sure the closed side of the phyllo is on the wider edge of the oval.

Note: a small amount of the phyllo dough on the top side is wasted once cut into this shape. However, you don't have to throw it away. You can place the extra phyllo dough in a small pan, brush the top with butter and enjoy with drizzled syrup or honey.

PREHEAT OVEN: 350 Fahrenheit and boil a pot of water.

10. Brush an aluminum pan with butter and place the individual baklawas on the pan. Brush the top of the baklawas with more butter.

Note: In the picture you see different sizes, I was testing how many layers of phyllo dough gives the best result. 8 layers won!

11. Repeat the steps above until you finish the cashew fillings. IF you have extra phyllo dough reserve it to make pistachio baklawa later on.

DECREASE oven temperature to 330 Fahrenheit

12. Carefully, place a water bath in the oven by placing boiling water in a deep dish pan on the bottom rack. I used this method in hopes of achieving an even bake for all the phyllo layers.

13. Bake for 50 minutes. rotating the pan every 10 minutes in the oven so that all pieces get baked evenly.

Browning the bottom of the baklawa (check instagram highlights for video)

14. Place the simple syrup you prepared before back on the stove top and bring to a simmer. When applying the syrup to the baklawa, it must be hot.

15. Remove baklawa pan from oven and place on top of a stove top burner. Turn the stove top heat on the lowest heat setting, placing 1/2 the pan over the heat and 1/2 the pan away from the heat.

16. Using a cooking brush, dip the brush into the simple syrup and drizzle on top of the individual baklawas that are over the heat. Rotating the pan constantly until you finish all the pieces. Each baklawa piece should get about 1 tbsp of simple syrup. A tablespoon can be used instead of a brush.

** The process should take about 8 minutes. You are done when you lift the baklawa with a fork and the bottom is browned. Be careful not to burn it.

The syrup that is being drizzled is helping the bottom brown better.

17. Immediately lift the baklawas from the pan and place on a nonstick baking sheet while they are hot to prevent them from sticking to the aluminum pan. You can use a spatula to lift a larger amount at once.

18. Sprinkle the baklawas with pistachio flour.

How to make pistachio flour: place 1/4 cup raw pistachios with 1 tsp powdered sugar in a coffee grinder or a food processor and process until flour like.

19. Allow to cool completely. Then serve and enjoy!